Israel, much like the fortress of Tel-Chai that Jospeh Trumpeldor fought to defend against Arab conquerors in 1920, finds itself beseiged by enemies both within and without. Terrorists, would-be friends inside and outside Israel, and even bad government officials. Here are the discussions of one proud Zionist resident on the state of the nation and abroad.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Jewish Home party is right: Shas does not represent the Torah

Habayit Hayehudi leveled harsh criticism at Shas Monday, saying that the orthodox party's "self-professed monopoly on religion is the reason for the secular public's disdain of the Torah." [...]

"Anyone looking for the reasons why Israeli society is so divided needs look no further than Shas," a party source told Ynet.

"It's high time Shas understands that they don’t have a monopoly on the Torah. We're just as committed to the Halacha as they are and we can protect the religious sector just as well.

"If they can claim a monopoly on anything, it is on alienating the secular public and making it turn away from the Torah. From the haredi draft to daylight savings time – Shas never missed a chance to shy away from demonstrating progressive Judaism."

Another Habayit Hayehudi source said that "The local rabbinates have been bulldozed by the haredi establishment and have turned into a stipend machine."

And it's not just Shas that's been embarrassing the name of the Torah, but a lot of other Haredi movements as well, including the Satmar. Here's more:

"Shas thinks our memory is short," the source said. "So short, that they will cry 'a rift within the nation,' and we will forget what has been going on here all of these years, and was happening only two weeks ago. Suddenly they remember that the Bayit Yehudi are 'Jews like them' when all along the elections they called Bayit Yehudi 'goyim' (gentiles)."

"Who are their goyim? Yoni Shetbon, a graduate of Har Hamor Yeshiva who received a Chief of Staff's Citation for evacuating Maj. Roi Klein under fire? And Roi Klein himself, who jumped on the hand grenade in the Second Lebanon War is a 'goy'? Maybe the new Knesset Member Shuli Mualem, whose husband was killed in the helicopter catastrophe, is a gentile?

"How cynical can this get? Where are the remainders of the shame? And who are the ones talking about a rift in the nation? The one who, during the Oslo process, ignored the demonstrations, our cries, of the religious Zionist public, and is now again at the head of Shas (a reference to Aryeh Deri who allowed the Oslo Accords to pass– ed.)?"

The sources noted that before the elections, Bayit Yehudi turned to Shas and asked them to coordinate moves regarding the coalition, and Shas did not even want to meet with them. "They were not worried about a rift in the nation then. They were certain that they would be in the coalition. When we warned against a coalition of the Left with Shas, they were silent… When they attacked the rabbis of the Bayit Yehudi, when they attacked their MKs, Shas did nothing…. It seems that 'a rift in the nation' means a rift between Shas and a seat in the government."

The source added that by saying that Bayit Yehudi cannot take care of the religious world without Shas by its side, Shas was making a grave mistake. "It is time that they understand that they do not have a monopoly on the Torah... We will take care of the Torah world no less than those who claim to represent it but cause it harm. If Shas has a monopoly, it is on making the secular public grow sick of the Torah. From the matter of enlistment to the military to daylight savings time – wherever they could have displayed a positive face of Judaism, they missed the boat. In the matter of appointing Zionist rabbis, too, they treated us like lepers. An entire generation of Zionist rabbis has been cut down under the hareidi steamroller."

They were right to call out Shas - and others of their ilk - for what they're really doing: alienating the public from religion and the Torah by making the whole Haredi public look like a bunch of socialist leeches with nothing more than hatred and contempt for anyone who isn't Haredi, and even for specific ones who are. And all this was done under the clever cover of social services, most of which no doubt taught students to despise their own country and act like supremacists. People have to be careful not to allow such a pretentious political movement take advantage of them.

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About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.